Above Reproach

2 Corinthians 1:12–24 NASB95

For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end; just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus. In this confidence I intended at first to come to you, so that you might twice receive a blessing; that is, to pass your way into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be helped on my journey to Judea. Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.

INTRO: When we talk about deacon nominations and their qualifications like we have this morning, we often reference Paul’s letter to Timothy in which the character of a deacon is discussed. One qualification of all leaders is that they are “above reproach”. (You can find this in the term “likewise...” in 1 Tim. 3:8 ) Indeed, our deacons and other leaders in the church must live a life that is above reproach. But what does it mean to be above reproach?

I want to try and define that for us: It means that one’s integrity and character was so consistent that he/she would not be easily discredited by critics. It is to be Blameless, beyond suspicion.

ILL: I remember hearing Billy Graham talk about steps he took so that the door for certain accusations would not even be open. For instance, Billy Graham had a rule that he never spent time alone with a woman that was not his wife. By keeping this code, anyone who accused him of unfaithfulness would look like a clown.

Of course, this also was a form of accountability for Dr. Graham. He wanted to live a life above reproach and thus was intentional about living it out.

Being above reproach should be the desire for all Christians. Let me ask: Are you above reproach? Is your integrity so consistent that you are beyond suspicion?

As we look back to the Corinthian church, we see Paul responding to folks who had attempted to criticize him. Let me set the stage-

Paul, likely in an earlier letter, had communicated to the Corinthian church that he intended to visit them on his way to and from Macedonia. The Corinthians had been rebuked by the apostle the last time he was there, and there was great hope that in these future visits that the wounds and guilt from that rebuke would be brushed aside in celebration. After all, Paul was focusing on another ministry and he had already said what needed to be said to the Corinthians.

However, Paul’s plans changed. Actually, he recognized that if he were to keep his plans to visit in Corinth again at that time, he would once again have to address the same sins and complacency that he addressed in the first letter and in person.

So, instead of doing that, Paul decided to hold off on his visit. This made some in the church angry. They wanted to move past the corrections and on to good times. They interpreted Paul’s changed itinerary as a personal attack and thus accused Paul of not caring enough about them to keep his plans.

In this letter, Paul is speaking to a people with wounded hearts. Last week, we looked at suffering and how God uses the suffering in the life of the Christian to comfort us, equip us, and teach us. This morning, we see that part of the suffering of the Corinthian church was largely because of their sin and the correction handed down by Paul. Thus, his response is intended to demonstrate the reality of the situation which had been clouded by the emotions of the young church.

In so doing, Paul demonstrates his own personal character, showing how even though they offered criticism, his life was one that was above reproach. Let’s dive in.

As always, I encourage you to make use of the sermon guide in your bulletin to follow along now and to reflect upon later as we learn together from 1 Corinthians 1:12-24, in the sermon titled, Above Reproach.

The first characteristic Paul demonstrates is that one who is above reproach lives a life of

Godly Conduct (12-16)

Let me just read v. 12 again (READ)

IOW, Paul was certain that the lives of Timothy, Silas, and himself were absolutely consistent with the Christian walk.

Paul says that it is in holiness and Godly sincerity that they conducted themselves towards everyone, and that was overwhelmingly the case in their conduct towards the Corinthian believers as well.

No doubt there are many in the world- and even in the church today - who would have opted to shun these believers in Corinth because they were a bit of a handful. I mean, it’s hard to blame the Corinthians for suspecting that people would treat them this way.

But God has commanded us as Christians to love one another. He hasn’t called us to be passive-aggressive towards one another, or to deceive one another. Look at v. 13-14 (READ)

Paul tells the Corinthians that neither in his letters nor his in-person teaching was there a hidden agenda- his teaching is plain and while there may be teachings that take a bit more study to grasp, Paul did not use pretentious language or worldly wisdom. Paul wasn’t trying to manipulate or pull something over on the Corinthians.

In other words, Paul called them to remember their relationship as it truly was.

ILL: Do you have friends or family that you haven’t seen in a while? Maybe you talk occasionally, but it’s been a while since you sat and fellowshipped? These relationships can be undermined by our imagination as we begin to wonder if they are just being nice on the surface, but perhaps gossip about all our issues behind our back. Or they might suspect that you don’t really have time for them anymore since you always seem to be busy.

Paul tells the Corinthians to step back and be reminded of the unity they have through Jesus. Look at the last part of v. 14 again- Paul tells the Corinthians that you are our reason we are confident about how we are stewarding the Gospel and we should be your reason for confidence on the day we stand before Christ. Why? Because their relationship is a demonstration of what can only happen through the power of Christ.

The genuine, godly conduct of Paul was experienced by all the Corinthians and thus the attacks on his character did not line up with what they knew to be true of him.

Discuss: What does your conduct say about your character?

Being above reproach means that our Godly Conduct will defend us from these kind of criticisms.

Next, we see that to be above reproach is to demonstrate

Godly Speech (17-20)

We can define Godly speech as being words consistent with our salvation, conduct, and the teaching of Scripture.

There are all kinds of examples of this in Scripture:

Jesus tells us in

Matthew 12:36–37 NASB95

“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Further, we are instructed in

Ephesians 4:29 NASB95

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

The Proverbs are filled with warnings about foolish speech and there are several more examples as well.

But here in this letter, Paul compares his own speech to Jesus’ teaching about promises.

Matthew 5:37 NASB95

“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

Paul intended to come to the Corinthians, but it didn’t work out. However, this is not because Paul was waffling back and forth.

Let’s read 17-19 again (READ)

Here is what Paul is getting at: My intentions were pure. I do not promise with no intent to follow through.

ILL: Now, let me just see if I can bring this point to roost here: Have you ever told someone, “Yes, let’s have dinner on Friday night...” but you have no real desire or intentions of keeping that plan? So on Friday afternoon you text (because calling would mean a conversation) and say “something came up and we can’t make dinner.. sorry”

Right, you’d never do that because that would be a sign of poor character. But that is exactly what the Corinthians are accusing Paul of doing.

Paul explains that this is not what happened here. Besides that, he had not done this before- it’d be one thing if he promised multiple times and multiple times cancelled…

Instead, he says that his word was as purely intentioned as the proven faithfulness of God. But not only is he reminding them of his consistency, he reminds them that the only promises that are sure are the ones that are from God.

Look again to v. 20 (READ)

Paul needed the Corinthians to give him the benefit of their doubt - he isn’t sovereign so when he spoke his intention, he didn’t know the future. Perhaps this is why James wrote that one should not boast about tomorrow, but rather say, “If the Lord wills...”

However, because he demonstrated consistent Godly speech and Godly conduct, Paul was above reproach in this matter.

Discuss: Have you ever made a promise you did not intend to keep?

Finally, in the final verses of chapter 1, Paul shows that he is above reproach through his demonstration of”

Godly Patience (21-24)

Let’s read these verses again. (READ)

The reason Paul did not go to Corinth as intended was because he knew they had not yet grown and corrected their ways. They were still a young church and they had so many issues which Paul already addressed. The time was not appropriate.

If he went, he couldn’t just ignore these- love does not rejoice in iniquity. But at the same time, he also knew that their faith and desire to follow Christ was sincere even if slow.

Furthermore, this was not for Paul to micro-manage. The elders and leaders here needed to act upon their responsibilities.

Paul planted the church, but Christ established them. Paul was an apostle, but it was only because Christ anointed him to be so. The Corinthians were sealed with God’s Holy Spirit as Paul was and so Paul recognized that his coming again would perhaps do more harm than good.

Paul says the reason he did not come was “so that to spare them.” (23)

ILL:How long does it take you to apply the truth of God’s Word to your life? Think with me here. As a new believer, you likely had a lot of adjustments to make to align your life with God’s design. But we are all a work in progress… Remember that song we used to sing as kids- “He’s still working on me...”

The Corinthians no doubt knew in their head the right thing. The Elders were most likely addressing what Paul had brought to their attention as best they could. But they were still a young church and had not yet figured out how to apply all that Paul showed them. The elders had their hands full, but they were working on it.

So, Paul did not want to go to them and ‘lord over them’ which might result in behavior changes, but only while Paul was around-

Instead, he wanted them to own their faith and stand in the joy of an authentic relationship with Jesus. Look again at v. 24- “we are workers with you for your joy...”

Paul showed that he had learned a valuable lesson from Christ in patience, for

2 Peter 3:9 NASB95

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Some of us have friends who need us to be patient as they learn and grow in Christ… maybe you are young in the faith and need the patience of our more mature believers are you work out your salvation.

TO be above reproach is to demonstrate Godly Conduct, Godly Speech, and Godly Patience.

The question remains, Are you above reproach? Do you exhibit the qualities of a consistent, godly character that prevent any real criticism?

[PRAY]

Discuss: How are you working with other believers for their joy through faith?